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The last reviewer is totally correct, and described the album well. People have made references to David Bowie, Talking Heads, ABBA, and Madonna in describing these various songs, which goes to show that Meg Remy (who really is U.S. Girls) is a true chameleon, like David Bowie before her. This album is super groovy (albeit with bitter lyrics) and her most accessible yet, and quite different in tone and style from her previous works. I still prefer her last record (Half free), but that is just personal preference, and this is clearly her most consistently solid effort, so fully worth 5 stars!

Think music you can dance to. Or rearrange those words as nouns, adjectives and verbs as you see fit. Meghan Remy comes with her densest iteration of sounds yet on U.S. Girls’ latest LP In a Poem Unlimited. Clearly the top of the heap of this week’s releases (though see The Orielles debut as well), one could be forgiven for not noting the gravity of the lyrics and just getting caught up in the heady mix of styles. From the gently pulsing ‘Rosebud’ to the layered polyrhythms and processed guitars of ‘Time’ (which sounds like a continuation of the Talking Heads’ ‘The Great Curve’), there is plenty to enjoy here. The fact that Remy tackles toxicity in both relationships, society, and the environment is a tidily concealed bonus revealed over time. The sax skronk and light funk melody of ‘Rage of Plastics’ speaks to the consequences of chemical contamination from the factory floor and recalls Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. ‘M.A.H.’ (short for mad as Hell) skirts the closest to innocuous sounding Abba grooves, but is one of the songs that deals with physical abuse. ‘Velvet 4 Sale’ and ‘Incidental Boogie’ deal more directly with the same topic. The latter’s abrasive slinkiness echoes the “on and on” rhythm of Arcade Fire’s ‘Creature Comfort’ from last year that dealt with self abuse while Remy confronts being victim of an abuser head on - “to be brutalized means you don’t have to think”. The buried earwig hook of ‘Pearly Gates’ makes it one of the catchiest tracks but it also deals with veiled sexual politics in the guise of Biblical allusions. The dancing with tears in my eyes cover painting let’s the listener know that there is something going on beneath the surface here. Ignoring that in favor of just hearing the music would be a disservice to what Remy has carefully pieced together.